1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improved tire rim clamp. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved clamp rim for electric motor powered dual wheeled large mining truck and similar heavy construction equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is generally known and an accepted commercial practiace to provide large mining trucks and comparable heavy equipment with dual tires and rims that are concentrically mounted to an electrically powered rim on an axle housing wherein the electric motor is located within the axle housing. The electric motor driving the dual tires and rims in such equipment is frequently powered by a diesel engine driving an electrical generator or the like. In such mining trucks and similar heavy equipment, the dual tires and rims are convenitonally sequentially mounted to the rear axle housing. Typically, the inner tire and rim are concentrically positioned on the rear axle housing, followed by a concentric spacer and then the outer tire and rim. A series of individual rim clamps are then inserted into the annulus created between the outer tire rim and the inner axle housing and then bolted to the driven hub assembly on the axle housing, thus completing the assembly of the dual tires and rims.
Usually, the clamps of the tire rim retention device of the prior art, as described above, have to be installed individually by hand because there is not enough room to use lifting equipment to handle the clamps. However, the clamps of the prior art could be quite heavy and must usually be lifted by one person, making the overall process very difficult.